‘No’ to renaming St Paul’s Hill

Five-hundred years on: The church at the top of St Paul’s Hill, which was built in 1521.

MELAKA: Kota Melaka MCA will object any attempt to change the name of St Paul’s Hill to Bukit Melaka.

Its vice-chairman Datuk Ronald Gan said St Paul’s Hill’s identity should be retained.

“It’s ridiculous to propose changing the name of this historic site.

“Are we going to change the name of the Portuguese galleon replica Flor de la Mar at Bandar Hilir too?” he asked.

Gan said local historians were also up in arms over the proposal by the Melaka Museum Corporation (Perzim) to have the name changed.

“The rationale given by the museum authorities is that the hill was known as Bukit Melaka before the Portuguese occupation of Melaka.

“If we want to talk about history, then it’s fair for Melaka to preserve its Hindu/Buddhist past without concealing any facts, ” he said yesterday.

Gan said he was told that the proposal was not favoured by the current state government and that the matter was still under review.

“I hope Chief Minister Datuk Sulaiman Md Ali intervenes to put a stop to such attempts, ” he said.

St Paul’s Hill is also the site of St Paul’s Church that was first built in 1521.

The church is said to be the oldest Catholic structure in Malaysia and South-East Asia.